Svadilfari
by wanderingmusician
Summary: Loki is brought back to Asgard to face judgement, but an unexpected champion comes to his defense and brings ominous news. Loki and Thor return to Midgard to help the Avengers protect the Earth and for Loki's recovery. Eventual Loki/Darcy.
1. Return to Midgard

Post-Avengers. Continues the Thanos storyline, ignored Thor: The Dark World (although I may eventually tackle that with this 'verse.) I will be picking and choosing bits of Norse mythology to use - a prime example is Svadilfari. I will be changing the mythology though. Because while I accept that Loki can change shape, the biologist in me refuses to accept that someone with XY chromosomes can change them to XX and not only conceive a child with another species but also carry it to term. So Svadilfari is a mare (female horse.)

I don't own the Avengers.

* * *

"Sir, Director Fury has called an emergency meeting of the Avengers."

Tony looked up from his work on an arc reactor the size of a car engine and pushed his safety goggles up, smearing a bit of grease on his face in the process. "Tell him I'm busy."

JARVIS sighed in a way which suggested that, if he had eyes, they would be rolling. "Sir, he insists that this is a most urgent matter."

Tony, whose sarcastic manner could not be trumped even by a machine of his own creation, _did_ roll his eyes and resumed work on the defunct reactor in front of him. "Tell him I hid his spare eye-patch in Bruce's lab." Even as Tony delicately applied flame to the machine in front of him the safety goggles remained forgotten on top of his head.

"He says Thor and Loki are in SHIELD Headquarters, sir."

The soldering iron in Tony's hand jerked up, ruining his careful work, and he swore profusely before turning it off. Taking a deep breath, he set it carefully next to the reactor and headed for the glass doors of his lab. "I'll be there in ten."

* * *

When Thor had appeared in the middle of SHIELD headquarters the well trained agents scattered throughout the room hadn't reacted other than to raise their eyebrows. One of them had calmly greeted the Asgardian and led him to Director Fury's office.

The director wasn't quite as calm as his underlings. His desire for some warning of unearthly visits was expressed more than once, in colorful terms. The news that Thor brought, though, was enough to shock the director into momentary silence. After a pause all he said was that he would call the team together and added that this was "the kind of shit he didn't need right now."

* * *

The Avengers who worked or resided in SHIELD headquarters – Agents Romanov and Barton, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers – were quickly gathered. Jane Foster, who was working on the base with Erik Selvig and Darcy, who had been promoted from intern to research assistant after she graduated, caught wind of the meeting and barged in, Darcy in tow, to see the man she had been waiting for since New Mexico.

No one who entered the room was prepared for the sight that greeted them. Wearily, Thor told each that all would be explained once the entire team was assembled. The room soon settled into an awkward silence. Jane murmured softly to Thor while Darcy fidgeted anxiously in the chair to her left.

Clint cleared his throat angrily and pointedly glared at the table in front of him. Natasha's eyes softened slightly when she looked at him and she reached out gently to touch his arm. Meeting her eyes, Clint sighed and shook his head.

The pall of discontent lifted soon enough, as Tony entered the room in his usual style – loudly.

"What's this I hear about He-Man and Bambi being here?" When his gaze fell to the far end of the room Tony froze. "No one said Secretariat would be here too. Why the fuck is there a horse in SHIELD?"

Thor looked mournfully at the corner of the room where Tony's gaze was fixed. There was indeed a horse there, although this one sported a light grey coat, not the bright chestnut of Secretariat. It stood protectively behind Loki, head resting on his shoulder. The large horse raised its head slightly to snort at Tony then quickly lowered it towards the god again.

Gesturing for Tony to take a seat, Thor began to explain. "She is the reason my brother and I are here today." Everyone in the room started to question him at once. "Silence yourselves and I will tell you the entire story."

The God of Thunder took a deep breath and launched into his tale. It started just after he had brought Loki and the Tesseract back to Asgard.

_Loki had spent a night in prison before he was brought in front of Odin to receive judgment. Odin, Thor explained, was known for being exceptionally cruel in the punishments he meted out. Thor tried to plead with Odin to give Loki a less harsh sentence but no one would side with him. Until something unexpected happened._

_As guards prepared to lead the God of Mischief away they heard the sound of thunderous hooves approaching. From the far end of the hall came a large grey mare. She approached the throne at a gallop, pulling up sharply just in front of it. _

"_Svadilfari." Odin's voice was cold. The sour expression on his face made it clear that he was not happy with the appearance of this horse in his court. "Why have you come here?"_

"_I have come here, Odin, to defend Loki Silvertongue." Although the mare didn't speak with her mouth, her words were clear to everyone in the room. If the sneer in her tone when she spoke Odin's name – without his title of Allfather – wasn't enough to convince everyone present that she was unhappy, the way her ears were pinned back made it obvious. _

"_Loki has already received judgment." Odin banged his spear, Gungnir, on the floor in an attempt to intimidate the massive equine before him. _

_Svadilfari's tail swished in anger. "And this is how the mighty Allfather judges his prisoners? On the words of others, giving the accused no chance to speak? Even Midgardian courts allow those on trial to defend themselves." With those words she walked to Loki and gently touched the muzzle covering his face with her nose. "Remove this at once."_

_The guards, unsure of what to do, moved closer to Loki while glancing uncertainly at their king. Odin shook his head at them. _

"_I SAID REMOVE IT." The mare's voice roared in both the ears and mind of all those present, punctuated with the loud bang of her hoof on the floor. _

_Fearing her hard hooves and sharp teeth, the guards looked towards the king again. Resignedly, he nodded his head sharply. Quickly, the man closest to Loki removed the contraption from his face. Gently Svadilfari nuzzled the marks which had been left by the too-tight muzzle. _

_Suddenly she spun, facing the Allfather again. "You have grown complacent in the time I've been gone. Surely you have heard the whisperings, at least?" Though he didn't look confused, Odin said nothing. Sighing, the grey mare continued. "Thanos has returned."_

_Nearly everyone in the room collectively recoiled from her. Loki, however seemed to cower at the name. This did not go unnoticed by Odin, who suddenly seemed much more interested in what Svadilfari had to say. It was Thor, however, who spoke first. "Thanos was defeated long ago and cast into Hel! Surely he cannot escape from there."_

_Svadilfari said nothing, only glanced meaningfully at Odin. Wearily, he addressed Thor. "There is no prison which could hold Thanos the Titan indefinitely, especially if he had outside aid." _

_Here the horse interjected again. "Which he did. The Chitauri. If you would actually speak to the one you claim as son, look into his mind, then you would know the truth of my words and his actions."_

_Gracefully, Odin Allfather stepped down from his throne and came to stand in front of the man he had only just passed judgment on. Making eye contact, he asked permission to make contact with Loki's mind. Resting his hands on his adopted son's shoulders, Odin closed his eye and reached out with his mind. Long moments past as Odin mentally walked through Loki's recent memories, back to his fall from the Bifrost. When he finally stepped back and withdrew from Loki's memories his hands were shaking. Hesitating, he took a step forward and embraced the pale god. _

"_I am truly sorry, my son." Gathering his composure, Odin retreated to his throne. Facing the questioning looks from Thor and the guards he announced what he had discovered. "Loki's actions were not his own. Thanos has returned and used torture and magic to enslave my son's mind. Loki is absolved of the accusations brought against him."_

* * *

Silence did not reign for long after Thor concluded his story. After only a moment's pause, the room erupted in questions.

"Who's Thanos? Will Earth be attacked again?"

"What exactly are you doing _here?"_

"The horse can _talk?"_

The horse in question left her position behind Loki and moved to the head of the table. Her hooves made solid thuds as they came down heavily on the floor. Stopping behind Thor, she swished her tail angrily and pinned her ears.

"Of course I can talk, I am not one of your mortal horses." Although everyone in attendance clearly heard her voice in the ears, her mouth did not move. "Thanos is the Mad Titan. He is obsessed with gaining the favor of Mistress Death. He believes that he can do so by destroying worlds in her name."

"Well fuck." Although the sarcastic lilt remained in Tony's voice, the business man looked decidedly unsettled, his mouth tightened at the corners and eyes slightly narrowed. "I take it that means we will be facing more attacks."

Thor and Svadilfari both nodded their heads solemnly.

"We came here so that I will be able to assist in the next attack." Thor was uncharacteristically solemn. "Svadilfari insisted that she could better help Loki on Earth rather than Asgard."

As one, every head in the room turned to look at the quiet god sitting at the far end of the table. Slowly, he raised his green eyes from their study of the wood's grain. His face was pale and his eyes, though a vibrant shade, looked empty. Slowly, as he met the gazes of the Avengers, they hardened, challenging the warriors to comment on his state.

It was, to everyone's surprise, Darcy who spoke first. "Where's he going to stay? You can't keep a horse on the helicarrier."

After a tediously long discussion weighing the pros and cons of various SHIELD safe houses it was decided that Loki, Thor, and Svadilfari would be moving to one about twenty miles north of the city. It sat on nearly twenty acres of fields and woods, and apparently was home to a horse barn that was currently being used to store vehicles.

Jane, of course, would live there with Thor. The team decided that someone else should live with them as well, as Loki and Thor had little knowledge on how to blend in with society and Jane, left to her own devices, would forget to buy groceries or do any number of mundane but necessary activities.

At that point Director Fury entered the room and bluntly put an end to the discussion. Darcy, he said, would be moving with them because she had experience both with taking care of Jane and with horses. He gave them one day to pack.

* * *

"Jaaaaaaane, what am I supposed to do? You'll be spending all your time with your hunky man-love, and Loki is obviously all sorts of messed up." Darcy, who had long ago perfected the puppy-dog eyes, was using their full power on Jane. "Promise me you'll tear yourself off of Thor at least occasionally, to save me from dying of boredom?"

The scientist was decidedly less than impressed with Darcy's display. "I'm sure the Director will still have work for you. Most of the PR work you've been doing can be done just as well from the house on your computer."

It was Darcy's turn to look unimpressed with her friend. "That's really not the point, Jane. I need real, human, interaction. When I wither away and die it will be _all your fault._" With that Darcy flounced out of her friend's room, leaving Jane sighing behind her.


	2. Interlude

The barn had been cleaned out by the time they arrived. The only reminder of the cars which had previously inhabited it was a faint smell of gasoline at the far end of the aisle. As soon as Svadilfari backed off the trailer SHIELD had rented for her, she and Loki disappeared into the dim confines of the old building. Inside they found six large box stalls, three on either side of the wide aisle. Muted sunlight fought its way in through windows encrusted with dirt, highlighting the pale shavings each stall had been filled with. The pleasant smell of grass hay wafted down from the loft above the stalls. Dust kicked up from their feet floated gently through the beams of sunlight. Svadilfari nudged Loki towards the old wooden ladder which led to the hay loft. She quietly surveyed the stalls and opened the middle left one. Its position on the east side of the barn and particularly dirty windows meant that it was dimmer than any of the others. She circled its perimeter a few times before gently lowering her large body to the ground. Loki threw a few flakes of the sweet hay into her chosen stall before making his way down the ladder. Standing in the entrance to the box stall, he watched the gray mare stretch her elegant neck out and pull the flakes closer. Quietly, he lowered himself to the shavings and, resting against her side, fell asleep. - AN: Just an interlude. New chapter should be out over the weekend, hopefully. It's being worked on. If anyone has questions about horse-things don't be shy about asking. 


	3. Life Begins

I have more written in another notebook, I simply have to find it, type it, and upload it. Soon, I promise.

I own only this particular arrangement of words, but none of the characters or entities it contains.

* * *

Darcy Lewis was not happy. Jane and Thor had gone back to the city earlier in the morning. _They_ were allowed to continue working on base. Darcy had been unofficially relegated to "babysitter." Director Fury had told her that she could continue handling SHIELD's PR and the Avenger's media appearances from an office in the new house and avoid the commute. Darcy had replied that it wasn't a long trip and Jane would be making the commute every day, they could go together. She really didn't mind. According to Fury SHIELD did mind and she would work from home, case closed.

Now she was wondering if she should check on the god who was apparently in her care. He had spent the night in the stable the horse. Thor had seemed fine leaving his brother there, but surely Loki would need something to eat by now. After a brief debate with herself Darcy decided that Loki was a grown man and until Fury officially made her a nanny, she was not going to act as one. The brunette settled into the plush leather couch and turned on her laptop, intent on doing her job even if she _was_ stuck in the middle of nowhere.

It was nearly noon when Loki finally entered the house.

"Your room is upstairs, first on the right," Darcy offered. Looking up, she realized he was still wearing his heavy Asgardian garb. "I think there's clothes in the dresser." Loki gave no reply, and walked by the couch without acknowledging her presence.

"Fine, whatever. I'm making lunch in twenty minutes. There'll be enough food to share if you want some." Darcy simply rolled her eyes and looked back at her computer when he continued ignoring her. She was still trying to figure out how to best communicate with the rest of her department, and that was way more important than whatever his current problem was.

_New message from Jane Foster _popped up on a small window in the corner of her screen._ *Hey Darce, how are things going?*_

For a moment Darcy wondered how Jane had learned about SHIELD's instant messaging system. As brilliant as the scientist was with the tech she developed for her research, she had a less than ideal relationship with computers.

What could she possibly tell her friend? Loki was closed off, extremely so, but considering what he had been through it wasn't unexpected. The Avengers, after hearing all that had happened, had shifted most of their malice to Thanos and his army. The group had expressed sympathy and compassion towards Loki, but Darcy thought much of it was hollow. Except for Clint and Natasha, they didn't truly understand the horror of being completely unmade by someone, being controlled as easily as a puppet.

_*As good as can be expected,* _Darcy replied, _*But I don't know how Fury expects me to monitor the merry band's public image without a way to watch the news.*_ There. Satisfactory answer and subject change. Hopefully Jane wouldn't press the issue.

_*Thor's going to talk with Fury about it now.*_ The young woman tried, unsuccessfully, to contain her glee. There was no way Fury would be able to refuse Thor.

Darcy danced her way into the kitchen, where her joy immediately died. To say the pantry was less than well stocked would be an understatement. There was canned and condensed chicken noodle soup in a cupboard, and cheese, milk, and apple juice in the fridge.

Well, chicken noodle soup was supposed to make people feel better, so she supposed it would be good for Loki. If he came down.

Darcy hummed as she found a large bowl to make the soup in. As she was adding water to the condensed soup, Loki quietly entered the room. Not immediately acknowledging him, the brunette continued humming as she put their lunch in the microwave.

"We need to find a grocery store," she spoke casually, rolling her eyes. "SHIELD didn't leave us _anything_ to eat." Her hand made a large gesture to the bowl turning in the microwave. "This is the last of our food, so let's head out after lunch."

Loki looked uncomfortable at her suggestion. "I don't think it wise to be seen in public."

Blue eyes studied the god closely. Was he worried that people would recognize him and retaliate, or did he feel guilty and didn't want to face people he may have hurt?

"Wear normal clothes and wash your hair. No one will be able to recognize you."

A frown pulled at Loki's brow as he accepted a bowl of soup and a spoon from Darcy. As he slowly started eating it, the crease between his eyebrows smoothed. "Very well."

Cupping her soup bowl between her hands, Darcy smirked as she gently blew the steam from her bow. Jane had suggested that it was too early to take Loki out of the house and start introducing him to modern culture, but Darcy firmly believed that letting people sit and stew in their thoughts was not a good way to help them heal.

As the subject of her thoughts headed back up the stairs Darcy stared blankly into the remains of her soup and thought about the problems he posed. Acceptance, if not forgiveness, had been granted to him by SHIELD. The organization was willing to help him by providing somewhere to live, but that was because of Thor's presence. Any further help – such as the therapy he desperately needed – would not be offered. Not that the god would be likely to actually talk with a psychologist.

Shaking her head, Darcy dismissed her thoughts and started making a list of what was needed from the store. When Loki finished changing, the pair bade goodbye to Svadilfari and headed out for the Asgardian's first venture into the normal world.


	4. Children

AN: uh something is better than nothing as far as updates go? I'm trying to get back to this but quite frankly I was really depressed when I started it and I'm struggling to recapture the feel it has now that I'm better mentally. Plus school has been very time consuming. Nevertheless, I will try.

* * *

The closest town of reasonable size wasn't too far from the safe house. Darcy supposed that agents in a small town would be too obviously strangers. It was easier to maintain a low profile in a group – no one had given her or Loki a second glance yet. Loki had been quiet, but Darcy could see him processing every aspect of the new environment. Darcy kept up a steady chatter, as she always did when shopping; commenting on the quality of produce, selection of cheeses, and why were there so many craft beers? Through it all the Asgardian remained quiet, always a step behind her, never meeting her eyes when she turned to look at him. Darcy was picking up the last items from her list when a small child – a boy – ran into Loki's leg, crying.

Darcy turn quickly at the sound of crying, but froze when she saw Loki kneeling to speak to the child eye to eye.

"What's your name, young one?" His voice was strangely soothing, but stronger than Darcy had yet heard it. The distraught child didn't answer, but cried that he had lost his mama. Loki took the boy's hand. "I don't think you have wandered far from her." He led the boy an aisle over, Darcy trailing silently behind.

"Charlie? Honey where did you go?" Loki gently pushed Charlie towards his mother, who immediately drew him into a hug. "Thank you for sending him back to me," she said, smiling at Loki.

He merely shrugged in reply, but Darcy didn't miss the flash of pain in his eyes or the way his arm had lingered in the air half a heartbeat too long, fingers stretched towards the child.

* * *

Loki disappeared as soon as Darcy began unloading groceries from the truck. She thought about the incident at the store as she put away the food and started preparing dinner. He had shown more emotion in just a minute or two than Darcy had seen from him since he came back to Earth with Thor. He was completely closed off to everyone he met. Not surprising considering what he had been through. If she could figure out why his shell cracked today, maybe she could find a way to help him – SHIELD definitely wouldn't be sending the therapist he needed.

Lasagna in the oven, Darcy went outside to find Svadilfari grazing behind the barn, grey coat mottled with shadows from the trees around her. Darcy sat beneath one of the trees, leaning against its wide trunk.

"Thor told me once that there is a grain of truth in all the stories of Norse mythology."

Svadilfari didn't reply, except to flick an ear in acknowledgement. "Loki has children, doesn't he?" Darcy questioned softly, eyes fixed on Svadilfari. The grey mare raised her head sharply.

"Yes"

"Could they visit him here? We saw a child in the store today and, well, I think he must be missing them."

Svadilfari pinned her ears. "It is a kind thought." She sharply shook her head before meeting Darcy's eyes. "But I think you'll find there is more than just a grain of truth in the stories of Loki's children."


End file.
